


I Tried To Warn You Just To Stay Away

by Shenandoah76209



Series: Independent Heathens [4]
Category: Firefly, Pitch Black (2000), Serenity (2005), Suicide Squad (2016), The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shenandoah76209/pseuds/Shenandoah76209
Summary: River issued a warning after the Enchantress was defeated.  She wasn't bluffing.Summary:Do you ever have a normal day?Yeah, once. It was a Thursday.--I, Robot
Relationships: Richard B. Riddick/River Tam
Series: Independent Heathens [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1470014
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	I Tried To Warn You Just To Stay Away

As usual no one had paid any attention to the days of the week. Or the month. The year wouldn’t have even made a dent if it weren’t for those pesky taxes the Alliance wanted paid. Thankfully River had that handled. Though Floyd didn’t do bad at it either. Years of working under the radar and still paying to support his daughter had honed his skills in creative bookkeeping.

A year after Waller and the Enchantress, or _tiān shā de_ near to it. A year since he and River had finally gotten together. Despite his numerous attempts, and River claiming him with a bitemark on his throat in return for his claim on her, she wasn’t pregnant yet. Though he’d see her smile a bit dreamily now and then, and he had to wonder if that time wasn’t coming soon. Much as he liked the idea he didn’t feel any sort of rush either. Something in him knew it would happen when it was meant to happen.

He and River had considered renting out one of the shuttles, but ultimately decided against it. The crew bunks were spacious enough. And neither of them had much call to leave _Serenity_ unless it was on jobs with the ship’s crew. Floyd, on the other hand, had been pleased to have the option and happily rented it out so he could occasionally take his own type of jobs on the side, now and then. He’d been serious about raising his daughter properly and he’d only take work that he knew for certain wouldn’t lead trouble back to the ship. Having a genius Reader look into jobs for him facilitated that a lot. And River got a small percentage in exchange.

Of course it helped that Flag had work that needed doing now and then, something his regular pipe-hitters couldn’t deal with without making it obvious the Alliance had something to do with it. Those jobs Floyd always had River double and triple check for him. Funnily enough, they always checked out, and mostly they were on people who seemed set on making the ‘verse worse. Floyd’s little girl loved it when Flag waved because June would talk to her for hours about ancient history and what they could learn from it. It had gotten a little confusing with two Zoë’s on board but after six months of it everyone had started calling her Junior or JZ if they were feeling whimsical in the brainpain. (Mal had the weirdest sayings). And how she got that nickname was another story entirely. One Floyd still wasn’t thrilled with.

Riddick liked being on the boat more than he’d thought he would, another thing he and Floyd had in common. They were dirtside often enough that he could hunt if he wanted. The crew had warmed up to him some, and meals came regular. Jobs weren’t boring so he kept his edge sharp and he had River. She would have made life on the worst boat worthwhile. On this boat? He kept waiting for something to go spectacularly wrong life had gotten so good.

He got assigned bridge duty most often, which could be boring and exciting by turns on _Serenity_. Thankfully sailing the back roads of the Black didn’t have too many surprises. He’d taken to bringing a book with him, one eye on the instruments and one on whatever he was reading at the time. River usually kept him company, doing work on the cortex, shuffling funds and keeping _Serenity_ looking legal for all outward appearances. Between the books and River he was getting quite the education.

River also kept an eye on the Parliament. She had fingers in over a dozen different pies (read: cortex systems), and a lot of what she did kept anyone like Waller from finding them and the Squad. Although the Squad, even split up, did a pretty good job lying low. River husking the visual ident programs the Alliance used and changing data points for facial recognition went a long way towards fooling electronic eyes. Between her husking and her work for _Serenity_ she nearly had a full-time job.

“ _Nǐ tā mā de tiān xià suǒ yǒu de rén dōu gāi sǐ_!”

Riddick looked up from his book as River cursed vilely at the cortex screen, “Somethin’ go wrong?”

“Might could say,” River growled at the screen. “Not entirely unexpected but…still…unpleasant.”

“Well let’s have it,” He closed the book.

“You recall my warning to Waller,” River’s hands were flying across the keyboard as she worked.

“Oh…she didn’t,” Riddick scowled as he remembered how his woman had cautioned the Operative against a repeat of the Academy or the Pax.

“Hmm…” His woman nodded with a grimly set jaw. “I wondered, once she got over the shock of losing her special project, if she might take steps to recreate it. And it’s been proven, after what was done to me, that it’s possible to…create meta humans.”

“Create…like cloning?” He frowned.

“No,” River shook her head. “No, that would be more humane. She’s… scooping up individuals with hints of ability and forcing the meta gene to activate. Or develop more fully.”

“How exactly is she activating metas,” Riddick was pretty sure he wouldn’t like the answer.

“If the body or brain endures sufficient trauma, the brain will take steps to protect itself, forcing the body to adapt in order to survive,” Her voice was cool, distant as if River’d begun channeling someone else. “In the case of Riddick, his people were forced to adapt to their planet, until the changes become a dominant part of their genetics. In Tam’s case, the subject became a Reader and possibly something more. Others developed psychometry, telekinesis, abilities that can be harnessed, used for the purposes of the Alliance.” He knew that tone, that cadence.

River nodded and turned to look him in the eye finally, “Waller is up to her old tricks.”

* * *

You would think a Parliament Operative of Waller’s caliber would be harder to find. Maybe it was due to Waller being a different sort of Operative. After the ridiculous failure of one to capture/kill their escaped Reader, Parliament had eased back on some programing, giving the Operatives more…latitude in their work. But it allowed said Operatives to develop bad habits. They’d never learn. You couldn’t program a person, not completely. River shook her head. “She goes to meet Bruce Wayne at the same restaurant as her meeting with the Alliance military branch of Parliament. Back before we broke the Squad out.”

“Must have good steak,” Riddick quipped as he turned from his position in the pilot’s chair. “Never thought we’d be in this hunk of junk again.”

River grimaced, “Cockroach of a ship.” She shook her head again. Mal had gotten an old friend to pick up their ‘merc’ boat and move it to Universe’s moon to hide it. With a bit of work they’d been able to strip it of anything identifiable, include the government mandated codes programed into the hardware. Now it was a true ghost ship, sailing the Black with barely a blip to show it existed on the Alliance radar.

“Handy though,” Riddick shrugged. He didn’t mind the boat as much. He’d spent so much time on these types of ships, cryo or hybrids of cryo and ‘live’ ships, that he found _Serenity_ to be the height of luxury. “What’s she doin’ at the restaurant?”

“From what I can Read and See of Waller… Seems to be a pass-off,” She frowned as she accessed the live feed. “Carries a briefcase.”

“What’d Wayne want with information from Waller,” Riddick wondered aloud. “Don’t the man have more money than God? Seems like he could just buy it.”

“Might be what he’s doing,” River keyed a few more commands into the cortex. “Factions of Parliament that dislike the direction taken with government resources. They favor less control through obvious means.”

“Less obvious?” Riddick had a frown in his voice and his thoughts felt disturbed. His line of thinking was more extreme, drugged food and water supplies, subconscious messages, brainwashing in schools.”

River shook her head, “They favor the idea of giving the population gifts, luxuries, amenities for the Border planets that can be found in the Core. Hospitals and schools. Give with one hand, everything needed for a good life. Take rights away with the other. A voice for the people in small things. But not control of larger issues. Takes longer and is more chancy but doesn’t require Readers or Waller’s methods. Waller’s neck is her paramount concern.

“Figures it would be,” He shrugged. “You think to get her on the way back to her hotel?”

“One option,” She flicked the hotel layout with Waller’s highlighted room onto his screen. “The other is to lie in wait for her in the room. She does not enjoy company. Alone in the room, sound muffled electronic eyes and ears disabled…”

“Getting in going to be any problem?” Riddick leaned forward to examine the schematic.

“Timing would be tight,” River nodded. “Your idea of snatching her up outside the restaurant would be better.”

“Ain’t as if we can’t do it,” Riddick agreed. “She doesn’t feel the need for an armed escort, just a driver.”

“And her habit is to walk from the restaurant a block south, to enter her transport there. Fewer eyes, less chance of being followed back to her lair,” She remembered that much from her previous research on Waller. That nothing had changed since spoke to the woman’s arrogance. “Likes to be dropped off at the entrance, so no opportunity there.”

“Well there’s an alley we could use,” Riddick brought up the city plan. “Narrow, between buildings, for deliveries most likely. It’s a good location.”

“We’ve got forty minutes to get in place,” River nodded. “Unless you foresee other problems?”

“Nope,” He began to shut down his side of the bridge while River finalized her work and removed her datapad from its slot. “Let’s hit it.”

* * *

River stilled, barely breathing and Riddick glanced at her with a frown. “Problem?” He kept his voice low, barely more than a shadow of sound in the dark alley where they lay in wait. They’d known they’d be in for a wait when they took their position. Apparently Waller intended to actually have dinner as well as pass off information.

“Bruce Wayne,” River shuddered slightly before she looked up at him. “He…could become an issue for us.”

“Oh,” Riddick tilted his head in inquiry and River nearly huffed a laugh at him.

“Looks like a cat,” She half smiled. “Promises Waller his protection.”

“From?”

“The fallout of Mission City, the Squad and the destruction wrought,” River murmured. “Repercussions of it being known she has exchanged information for protection.”

“He know what she’s into?” He wouldn’t mind killing a rich Alliance _hún dàn_ if it came to that.

“Only about Mission City, the Squad, what he saw on the Wave sent,” River shook her head. “Alter ego is…problematic.”

“We’ll see,” Riddick had no trouble admitting he could be difficult to deal with. But it wasn’t arrogance if you could back it up. “He isn’t Furyan.”

“Not a Meta, no,” River shook her head. “More like…Floyd than Chato.”

“Makes things a bit more interesting,” He shrugged. “And he’s got no clue about the rest of it?”

In reply River shook her head, her voice low but with Waller’s inflection, “This is crown jewels here, Mr. Wayne. And you do understand my legal exposure. If anyone knew what I've procured for you...”

She tilted her head, “Wayne replied that he can keep a secret, asked what she wants.” Her eyes stared into the shadows, her gaze on Waller, “People are asking questions about Mission city. The kind of people who can get the answers. And if they can get those answers, my head will be on a pike.”

River shook her head, her words somehow different, gruff and arrogant, “Consider yourself under my protection, if you deliver.” She frowned, eyes flickering back and forth, her voice her own for a moment, “He reads.. files, Moone, June. Riddick, Richard. Allen, Barry. Tam, River. Curry, Arthur. She asks him, ‘Why, Mr. Wayne?’ No understanding of anything beyond _quid pro quo_.”

River tilted her head, that arrogant tone returning, “I just like to make friends.”

Riddick found himself really despising Wayne, just for that tone, as River’s cadence changed back to Waller’s, “That's the difference between us. You believe in friendship. I believe in leverage.”

River looked up at him for a moment seeing him, and not the two sharks circling each other, “He bade her goodnight. But she could not resist a parting shot, ‘You look tired. You should stop working nights.’”

Her lips curved in a smile, arrogance in her tone again, “You should shut it down, or my friends and I will do it for you.”

Riddick growled low in his throat and River’s eyes cleared, looking up at him with a mischievous smirk, “He does not know that the Squad escaped.” She sounded tickled pink. “Waller managed to keep that hidden, from almost everyone. Not common knowledge, and with the Squad lying low, nothing contradicts her. Flag and June are…mostly out of reach. Flag had friends too, used them to his advantage now that Enchantress, and Waller’s leverage over him, is gone. They are the ones who have jobs for Deadshot. Friends who are more true to their word than Waller.”

“That’s…actually pretty impressive,” Riddick admitted quietly. “I’d’ve thought Harley and Joker would be tearing the city up and giving the game away.”

“Harley persuaded Joker to let her remain in hiding for a while. Give us a head start,” River smiled. She did have a soft spot for her old friend. Of course, that friendship and the shared history that went along with it had gone a long way towards defeating Enchantress. He doubted they’d have gotten her heart out so easily had River and Harley not been quietly developing a plan combined of manipulation and attack.

“A year is a helluva head start,” He murmured. “Surprised she didn’t go crazy, well crazier, after three months.”

“Playing mind games,” River admitted. “And evading all of Waller’s ‘quiet’ attempts to recapture her. Keeps her from getting bored. But there is still chaos to come. Joker and Harley are like the tornado and volcano.” Now that sound a lot more like the Harley Quinn he remembered.

They both stilled as a tall man in an expensive suit and overcoat walked past them and stepped into a sleek shining vehicle. Head high, as if unconcerned with the possibility of an attack, he carried a briefcase with a tight possessive grip.

“Bruce Wayne,” River murmured. “Waller will finish her meal, and then she will not be far behind.

* * *

Another twenty minutes had passed, very little time, comparatively speaking, until Waller walked past the alley and Riddick’s lightning fast hands grasped her arm and coat collar, yanking her into the darkness. No escaping that grip, a jolt of unfamiliar fear wrapping around Waller, calculation fading for a moment as her mind gibbered like a monkey near a tiger.

Riddick’s eerie silver gaze stared down at the Operative from the shadows and River smiled coldly as she let a slant of light illuminate her face. “You have been…very naughty,” She murmured. “Amanda… we went to all the trouble of warning you. Told you exactly what not to do. And you went and did it anyway.”

“Big mistake,” Riddick’s voice, a low rumble of thunder sent icicles of fear through Waller’s senses.

“Foolish, to not take us at our word,” River explained quietly. “Did you believe we would not find you? That the protection of Bruce Wayne would be your armor against all slings and arrows and…knives?”

“Really, kinda _bái mù_ ,” Riddick agreed.

River looked at the woman and shook her head, “You read my file, before you gave it over to Wayne. You read his file,” She nodded towards Riddick. “Did you forget? Before I ever became a Reader…I began as a genius, with ‘an immeasurable intelligence quotient’. Calculating, grasping, greedy and cunning as you may be, you are not a genius. My partner’s file says that his intellect could not be accurately measured, but it is theorized he is very, very, smart. You should have known that we would find you.”

“See…we figured, hey, better the devil you know,” Riddick’s grip hadn’t slackened on Waller’s arm. “We knew where you were, what you were doing, and as long as you didn’t step out of line, well, we didn’t have to concern ourselves with someone else coming along to take your place. Or escalating your efforts.”

“But then you went and did the dumbest thing ever. The one thing we told you not to do,” River continued. “You decided to pick up where the Academy had left off. You just scooped people up, people you considered expendable, more so than children. Children might be more adaptable but there’s a greater outcry when they disappear. Prisoners, the indigent, rim-born, no one who would be missed. Turning them into Metas. And if dozens died so you achieved one success well…can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.”

“I did it for the good of the Alliance, to make better worlds,” Waller didn’t seem to understand that was the worst thing she could possibly have said. “What we can accomplish with such powers under our control would be amazing.” River shook her head, Waller’s mind was filled with ideas, an army of metas, yoked like cattle, slaves to raise the great pyramids once again, power built on the backs of people she considered beneath her.

“Thought you saw the Miranda Wave,” Riddick growled. “You didn’t think one dead world was enough?”

“Foolishness, to think you can make people better with external manipulations,” River sighed. “Now it will be annoying to watch for and hunt down whoever replaces you as the Parliament’s hand. But thanks to you, I’ve been able to plant little tell tales in the government systems.” She shook her head at Waller’s shocked expression, “Honestly Amanda, did you learn nothing from your predecessors? The Miranda Wave was a direct result of bringing members of Parliament into the same room as a Reader. Did you think all those secrets you carried were safe since I didn’t act upon them immediately?”

She shrugged, “Perhaps the next Operative will be more cautious. I imagine they’ll return to their previous methods. Removing autonomy makes for very little intuitive thinking, but it does result in a controllable Operative. One more disinclined to make mistakes as a result of independent thought. And lacking the arrogance of someone who’s been in control for far too long. You’re a bit more than a typical Operative Amanda, but it won’t make any difference to us. You’ll die just as easy.”

“If you kill me you will bring the wrath of the Alliance down upon you,” Waller blustered. “Come in, quietly, and you’ll be allowed to remain together. You could do great things, make better worlds.”

“You still don’t get it,” Riddick shook his head. “I am Wrath.” He growled and the unmistakable stench of urine filled the air as Waller’s nerves lost the battle against the predator gripping her arm.

“ _È yǒu 'èbào_. Poetic justice would be to kill you with a sword, as another preferred to, but you aren’t worth getting steel bloody,” River shrugged, her indifference to Waller’s death clear. Riddick smirked and with a powerful twist of his hands, Waller slumped to the ground, a broken neck and severed spine giving her the undeserved mercy of an instant death.

“Better than she deserves,” Riddick did have an uncanny ability to say what River was thinking. “What’s next?”

“A bit of clean up,” River shrugged. “Wayne Corporation tech has observed our actions,” She pointed at a little drone hovering just over the roof lip of the buildings they stood between. A bullet, unerringly aimed, took care of the little spy.

“Best to not be in a blind alley,” Riddick suggested, and she nodded her agreement.

“For the inevitable confrontation.”

* * *

They’d made it half a mile away from the restaurant before said confrontation occurred. “Flair for the dramatic,” River muttered when the dark cloaked bat eared figure dropped several feet in front of them.

Riddick didn’t wait to be attacked, one foot lashing out to kick the armored chest, throwing the Batman back several yards. The armor did its job though, the Batman rose easily, rasping voice like a habitual cigar smoker, “Richard B Riddick, River Tam, be smart and give up now. Before this gets bloody.”

“Oh no, blood, what will we do,” She could hear the eye-roll that came along with his sarcastic rejoinder.

“We are not afraid of a little blood,” River nearly chuckled.

“You’ve spilled enough of it between the two of you,” Batman rasped as he stalked towards them again, throwing several objects.

A twist of Riddick’s large body, an impossibility for most men of his size, allowed him to evade the first object. River flung herself into the air, spinning to avoid the other two, landing again with one in her hand, to fling back at their opponent. “Thinks we are _è guàn mǎn yíng_. And yet we never spilt the blood of innocents,” She retorted. “Can you say the same of yourself?”

“I don’t kill indiscriminately,” His affront obvious as the caped ‘crusader’ moved towards her, batting the projectile away. “The two of you are going back to prison where you belong.”

“Neither do we, despite what the puppet theatre says,” Riddick retorted. He pulled the shuriken he’d dodged out of the wall and threw it back in the cowled man’s face forcing him to duck.

“Committed no crimes,” River dodged the fist Batman aimed at her.

“Done the sentence, partially anyway,” Riddick agreed as he ducked a punch. “’Course, I got thrown into a slam without a trial. So I don’t feel exactly bad about escaping.”

The vigilante didn’t seem disposed to listen, continuously attacking and River rolled her eyes. “Of what crime am I guilty,” She evaded another blow and kicked him in the small of his back, shoving him towards Riddick. “You are _xiā zi mō xiàng_.”

Her partner took the opportunity to grab the man and slam him up against the alley wall, leaning on his back and pressing his masked face to the brick. “You have no clue who you’re _tā mā de_ dealing with.” He pressed harder, “I could kill you right here. Got exactly no use for anyone thinks he’s so right he don’t hear anything but his own voice. _Jié' àobùxùn_.”

“Just knock him out,” River shook her head. “Killing him only proves him right about us.” The Batman’s thoughts roiled and tossed in his head, like a stormy sea, and she rolled her eyes. “We’ll make him see later.”

“You got it,” Riddick jerked the cowled head back and slammed it forward, hard enough against the wall to temporarily disorient and incapacitate the Batman. “Still conscious, just a bit too woozy to move much. What do you want to do with him?”

“Put him on the ground, on his back,” River smirked as brown eyes blinked up at her, bleary and confused. “Mild concussion,” She informed him as she searched his utility belt. “Ah,” She nodded in satisfaction. “Automated recall of a personal carrier, two man, to return him to safety.” She pushed the button and looked up at Riddick. “We’ll load him into it before we leave, make sure no one comes along to take advantage.”

“Sure about that?” Riddick rumbled, half amused. “Seems like he could use someone taking him down a peg or two. Fights like he thinks he can’t be beat.”

“Hasn’t been, until now,” River grinned back at him. “Might as well collect his little toys too.” She looked at the street entrance of the alley. “Vehicle comes,” She scooped up the three weapons he’d thrown at them.

“I got him,” Riddick nodded at her. “You just make sure no one climbs in the thing with him.” He hauled the vigilante up, one arm slung over his wide shoulders and the two of them followed her down to the vehicle that had parked at the entrance. “Fancy,” Riddick murmured. “Guess the caped crusader business pays well.”

“Has more money than God,” River shrugged. “Enough to buy or make the best toys.” She watched as Riddick loaded the Batman into the vehicle and closed the side hatch. The personal carrier lifted away from the curb a moment later and she smirked. “Feel like paying a call?”

“Oh you know me, I’m always up for tea and crumpets,” He grinned.

“A moment to put our evidence on a data crystal and we can visit the Batcave,” River smirked back at him.

* * *

“Very…atmospheric,” River murmured as she and Riddick slipped into the caverns beneath Wayne manor. The foundations of the old mansion formed pillars in regular intervals through the caves and clever use had been made of them. Rooms for storage, some for laser tech printer’s equipment, others were wrapped in padding and training equipment for martial arts.

In one corner of the caverns a bank of cortex screens even Mr. Universe might envy curved around a central console. Cortex eyes, surveillance cameras, satellite imaging all flowed across the screens while in the lower right-hand corner a capture of both she and Riddick underwent facial recognition scans. Trying to do a search for them on his own since she’d skewed the law enforcement parameters. The tall muscular figure of the Batman sat in a chair, minus his cowl and cape, both flung carelessly across a nearby table. “Alfred I’m not in the mood for a meal,” He remarked as they approached.

“Just as well we weren’t bringing it to you,” Riddick’s voice, a low rumble of thunder, stirred the bats hanging from the ceiling and pillars over the river that ran through the cavern. Their wings rustled and shook, inquiring cries echoing before they settled again. They almost blocked out the sound of an elevator descending behind an old-fashioned iron gate.

“I believe he meant me,” An older man with silvery hair and a somehow elegant Dyton colony accent informed them with aplomb as he carried a large square silver tray towards the table with the cloak and cowl. “Master Bruce, if you wouldn’t mind picking up after yourself,” He nodded at them politely as he scolded the master of the house like an errant child.

“What the—How did—When—” Bruce Wayne sputtered as he turned to face three individuals, only one of whom had been expected.

“This tray isn’t getting any lighter Master Bruce,” The older man remarked pointedly looking from his employer to the covered table.

Riddick smirked and stepped forward, “Allow me Mr. Alfred.” He held out his hands for the tray and the butler surrendered it with a slight sigh.

“Much as it pains me to allow a guest to do servants work,” He added the caveat as he unceremoniously removed the cowl and cape to a nearby set of hooks set into another column. “And it’s just Alfred. Thank you Mr. Riddick.”

“Just Riddick,” Her big man grinned and set the tray on the now empty table. “Anybody calls me Mister they’re usually bein’ sarcastic. And you gotta admit, it’s a lot more intimidating.” That had a brief grin pulling at Alfred’s mouth.

“What are you—” Wayne couldn’t seem to finish a sentence, much to the amusement of River and the other males.

“Master Bruce, might I suggest you partake of the repast I’ve prepared,” The butler turned that pointed gaze upon the de-cowled Batman.

“Alfred, do you have any—”

“Knows nothing about us but speaks as if we are _è guàn mǎn yíng_.” River could feel her patience slipping away, “Mr. Wayne, I truly suggest that you eat something.” She brought out her datapad and began to key commands into it. “Clearly your low blood sugar is having an effect upon your ability to reason.”

“Miss Tam is quite correct sir,” Alfred nodded firmly.

“They’ve invaded the most private space on the estate, trespassing is the least of it, and only a few hours after they killed a woman I promised I would protect,” Wayne finally spat out what was on his mind.

“Hmm…” River nodded. “Forgot to mention we kicked your _pì gu_ up and down an alley. Should never go into a fight knowing less about your opponent than you do yourself.” She shrugged when Alfred looked at her, “He started it. We just finished it.”

“Didn’t even kill him,” Riddick added. “And we could have. Easy. He’s too _mùzhōngwúrén_ , thinks he can’t be beat.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Alfred nodded.

“That’s all you have to say?” Wayne looked at his butler, flabbergasted.

“What should I say Master Bruce?” He got a look of infinite patience in return, “Clearly they mean you no harm or you’d already be dead. Anyone who can fight you to a standstill, invade one of the most secure sections of the manor and sneak up on you is someone to be respected. Miss Tam is also a member of Osiris’s leading families. So much promise…” He shook his head.

“Promise,” Wayne’s gaze narrowed as he regarded River and her partner.

“Repetition is irksome,” River sighed. “Already told you. Genius. Not _wèi hǔ zuò chāng_.”

“That’s a claim a lot of people make,” Wayne stood and moved towards the table with the food, seating himself with an air of someone used to eating while others watched. Once River might have been the same, surrounded by servants until she didn’t even notice their eyes. Though how someone in the presence of what he considered an enemy could sit and eat and ignore them… either he didn’t consider them a threat (highly unlikely) or he didn’t consider them an enemy (more likely but still odd) or he wasn’t quite ignoring them despite his outer attitude (much more likely). A quick read of Wayne’s mind revealed it to be the third scenario.

“Unlike most, Miss Tam truly is a genius,” Albert informed him. “I recall reading your paper on artificial intelligence,” He nodded at River. “Quite interesting and informative without becoming overly dry.”

“You’re very kind,” River bowed slightly. “However we didn’t ‘invade’ in order to be complimented.” She put the data crystal on the table, “That is information which should be passed on to the lawmen.” Her hand moved over the datapad and flicked her work towards the bank of screens. “And this is why we killed Waller.”

“ _Jiàn tā de guǐ_ ,” Alfred forgot himself so much as to curse. The images on the screens were worthy of far worse language. “These people…”

“Most didn’t survive the experimentation,” River told him quietly. “You’ve seen the Enchantress Wave?”

“I did, along with the Miranda Wave,” Alfred nodded.

“That’s part of why I’ve started…working nights again,” Wayne interjected. “Whenever the government is unsettled, the Tongs and Mafia tend to take advantage.”

“We were part of the team that helped to stop the Enchantress,” River informed them. “The Wave was edited slightly, to hide the faces of the team. But Waller put the Squad together. When we left we warned her.”

“Told her she’d better not do exactly what she went and did,” Riddick took over, his hand on her shoulder anchoring her. “You got our files from Waller. You know what was done to my woman. Waller decided despite our warnings, she’d start all of that up again. Wanted more Metas under her control. Wanted to duplicate River’s abilities.”

“And that we would not abide,” River said flatly. “Her life was forfeit.”

“You said most didn’t survive,” So Wayne had noticed that little tidbit. “What about those who did?”

“Taken from prisons, the streets,” She shook her head.

“They’re locked up,” Riddick nodded at the data crystal. “Unless somebody offers ‘em a better life, a reason to help folks, they’ll become threats. Because sooner or later they will get out. It’s _gāi sǐ_ straight inevitable, that much power in one place. Especially with guards tending towards the sadistic. Those type like to play with their victims. They’ll let their guard down. And then… _è yǒu 'èbào_.”

“All they need is one good day.” River nodded at the data crystal again, “Everything you need to know is there.”

“Might want to think twice, next time you offer your protection, make sure you’re protecting someone worth the effort,” Riddick looked at Wayne. “And it might be the time to look into what your government’s been up to, instead of just going with the status quo. Ain’t like you don’t have the time or the money. Instead of just acting like _wèi hǔ zuò chāng_.” His gaze moved to Alfred, “Alfred. A pleasure.”

“Riddick. Miss Tam.” Alfred nodded politely.

“You think you can just walk out of here—” Now Wayne was trying to bluster.

River laughed. “Yes.” She shrugged, “And trying to stop us will only give you more bruises.” A flick of her fingers over the data pad and the illumination in the cavern was gone. Riddick chuckling evilly the only indication that they were leaving.

* * *

Riddick turned and looked at his woman once they were back into the Black. “I liked Alfred; he seemed a bit brighter than Wayne.”

River gave him a smile, “Different type of intelligence. Alfred has always seen much more than he let on. Part of what makes him so stellar at his job.”

“Seemed to know quite a bit about you,” He leaned back, eyeing her thoughtfully.

“My parents considered a match between myself and Bruce Wayne, before the Academy,” She shrugged. “I met Alfred several times since Bruce was his ward. I enjoyed discussions with him far more than I did with Bruce. Now I know that the mask of the dilletante Bruce employed was to hide his training and preparation for becoming Batman. But at that time… I had no interest in someone who could do so much to improve the ‘verse and decided to make it a playground instead.”

“And he didn’t recognize you?” He couldn’t imagine anyone forgetting River Tam. He certainly couldn’t have, just one glimpse of her at a bar and he’d found her memorable.

“Didn’t care enough to remember me,” River lifted one shoulder in another shrug, indifferent to Wayne’s memory. “I’m sure Alfred will remind him. Eventually.”

Riddick grinned, “So home again?”

“Now that the work is done,” She smiled back at him. “An easy journey home. Indulge ourselves since we’ll have some privacy. Maybe ask something sweet like again?”

His grin widened as he pulled her into his lap, kissing her hungrily, “Now that is a plan I can get behind.”

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: So one more very small one shot and I think that is it for the Independent Heathens ‘verse. I haven’t had anything else jump up and grab me as far as this series goes but you never know. Hope you all enjoyed it.
> 
> Chinese Translations:
> 
> tiān shā de (goddamn)
> 
> Nǐ tā mā de tiān xià suǒ yǒu de rén dōu gāi sǐ. (Fuck everyone in the universe to death.)
> 
> hún dàn (bastard)
> 
> bái mù (stupid / Lit. white-eyed, blind / not understanding the situation and reacting in a wrong way as a result)
> 
> È yǒu 'èbào (evil has its retribution (idiom); to suffer the consequences of one's bad deeds / sow the wind and reap the whirlwind - Hosea 8:7)
> 
> è guàn mǎn yíng (lit. strung through and filled with evil (idiom); filled with extreme evil / replete with vice / guilty of monstrous crimes)
> 
> xiā zi mō xiàng (blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經｜大般涅盘经); fig. unable to see the big picture / to mistake the part for the whole / unable to see the wood for the trees))
> 
> Jié' àobùxùn (arrogant and obstinate (idiom) / unyielding)
> 
> tā mā de (fucking)
> 
> pì gu (butt)
> 
> mùzhōngwúrén (to consider everyone else beneath one (idiom); so arrogant that no-one else matters / condescending / to go about with one's nose in the air)
> 
> wèi hǔ zuò chāng (to act as accomplice to the tiger / to help a villain do evil - idiom))
> 
> Jiàn tā de guǐ (damnit/ bloody hell)
> 
> gāi sǐ (damned)


End file.
